River Bound
This is about a RiverClan kit/apprentice that doesn't like water or swimming... Amberfire3, RAVENCLAW!!!!Smartypants!!! Luna is awesome! 05:35, June 19, 2011 (UTC) Prologue "Sunnylight, here's your borage! The clan now knows that you have four beautiful daughters!" Willowshine, the medicine cat, remarked, entering the nursery. "Yes, I do, thank you for telling them," the queen whispered, looking down on the kits with love in her glowing amber eyes. One of the kits mewled and kneaded Sunnylight's belly. She was ginger, and was tiny, even for a kit. "What are you going to name them?" Willowshine asked. She glanced at the four kits. Sunnylight smiled. "The ginger tabby kits are so bright, like the sun. Raykit for the smaller one... and Lightkit for the other. The white one with the black tail could be called Wavekit, and the brown and white one could be called Flowerkit, for her brown patches look just like blossoms." "Great names! I'm sure they'll love being RiverClan!" the silver tabby medicine cat mewed joyfully. After Trouststream's first litter were all taken by green-cough, the clan needed more kits. Suddenly there was a screech. "WindClan, attack!" "Oh, no!" Willowshine murmured. "Quick, hide the kits!" "Too late!" a sneering voice snickered. It was a WindClan warrior! The dark tabby tom pushed past the she-cats with brute force and grabbed the kits with blood-stained claws. Sunnylight fell to the ground, a fresh wound on her belly. The dark warrior growled at the queen and the medicine cat, then disappeared into the fray. "Scarpaw, take the kits!" the warrior ordered to a shivering white apprentice. "Yes, Lionroar!" Scarpaw squealed, his fur standing on end with shock. It was his first battle. When he tried to walk with all four of the day-old kits hanging from his jaws, he stumbled and two kits, Raykit and Lightkit, fell into the raging river and sank to the bottom. "Oh, well..." Scarpaw muttered. "Good riddance." But one RiverClan warrior saw the lone ginger kit as is struggled to rise to the surface. The gray tabby she-cat, Graymist, dived into the dangerous river and gently brought the kit to the nursery. The other kit was left to perish. RiverClan had begun to regain its strength and the sleek warriors started to push WindClan back, into the river. Scarpaw was being stopped by two other RiverClan warriors. "Take the kits! I don't mind!" the white tom wheezed. "I wouldn't really take them!" He was silenced by a blow on the head. "WindClan, retreat!" the leader yowled. The WindClan warriors streamed out of the camp. And Raykit was to be haunted by the memory forever. Chapter 1 I was sinking. I swung my head wildly around to watch Lightkit clutch her throat and close her bright green eyes. No! Lightkit! '' I thought, horror-struck for the hundredth time. This was always the worst part of the dream. Now Graymist would haul me to safety ''once more... But the gray she-cat wouldn't come. I felt my last breath leave my body as I struggled for my life... "C'mon, Raykit! Sunnylight is letting us swim in the river!" Flowerkit yelled into my ear, waking me up just before I was going to start screaming. "Yeah, Raykit, lets go!" my other sister, Wavekit shouted. "I'm coming!" I mewed, getting out of the nest and stretching my bright orange body. "Just wait for me!" They ran out of the nursery, desperate to jump in the water. I lagged behind, though. I was still sleepy and terrified from my dream. Besides, it was too cold for swimming. Finally reaching the river, I saw my littermates splashing around in the grayish-green water. It looked freezing. I tentatively dipped my paw in the water, and quickly jumped back. It's so cold and slimy! I thought in disgust. And... I think I'm scared of the water... I realized. Every opportuntity I had to swim, I hung back, finding some excuse not to go in. Once, a few moons ago, I had pretended to believe the elders' stories about river monsters. That covered me for about two moons, but when I had turned five moons old, I knew that I was getting too mature to believe in that silly tale and everyone else thought so too. "Jump in!" my mother, Sunnylight beckoned. I hadn't realized that the dappled tortoiseshell queen was in there too. "I-I can't!" I meowed, suddenly frightened of the dank water. "Are you a RiverClan cat or not? Are you scared of the'' river monster''?" Flowerkit taunted, flicking her tufted ears. The brown and white kit was getting on my nerves. "Yeah! Are you a WindClan cat, drypaw?" Wavekit teased, waving her distinctive stumpy black tail. The rest of her was white. "Ha ha! She wouldn't go to WindClan after her 'terrifying experience'! She thinks she's so brave just because she almost drowned!" Flowerkit mewed, laughing uncontrollably. I pelted back into the nursery and hid underneath the swan feathers. "Raykit?" I heard my mother's voice and burrowed deeper into the bedding. Something wouldn't let me go in the water. I sank into sleep before my mother could ask me what happened. Chapter 2 I was asleep. Luckily I had escaped my sisters' wild taunts and my mother's empty vows to stop them. Now, where am I? I thought, stretching open my eyes to see the dream I had landed in. I realized I was surrounded by a beautiful forest, with oaks, birches, alder trees, beeches.... Wait... how do I know the names of ''trees? I'm a RiverClan cat!'' I thought to myself. I was so caught up in wondering this that I didn't see the beautiful blue-gray she-cat stalk up to me. I jumped when she purred into my ear. "Hello, Raykit! My name is Bluestar!" she mewed. "Bluestar? Am I in StarClan?" I asked, frightened of the legendary ThunderClan leader. She must have seen the scared look on my face. "Don't worry, this is a dream!" she meowed, jumping up onto a smooth rock I didn't notice before. The rock groaned under her weight and the great she-cat smiled sheepishly. "A dream? I'm not a medicine cat!" I exclaimed. "Raykit, I have a... feeling that you don't belong in RiverClan..." Bluestar started, looking worried. "I-I know," I sighed. "I'm scared of water." "StarClan knows that, and we think that maybe after you're apprenticed you could... transfer to another Clan, if you wish..." the majestic leader told me. I thought of RiverClan. I definitely wouldn't miss Flowerkit or Wavekit! But my mother... and Willowshine... "You will have the chance to see your Clan at Gatherings," Bluestar reminded me, as if she read my mind. I looked up at the tall she-cat. I had made my decision. "I will," I promised. "Another problem is we don't know which Clan you should go to. Which one would you like to stay in?" Bluestar questioned. This made me think. Not WindClan. Never. They killed Lightkit! Lionroar was now the leader, Lionstar, and ruled as if every day there had to be battles. Not ShadowClan. Rowanstar, the leader, was quite peaceful, as I heard from the elders, but I could never get used to eating frogs or living with the stench of the once-evil Clan. ThunderClan? Graystar was a humorous leader but wasn't afraid to step up to battle if one was needed. ThunderClan were strong cats, helpful and peaceful. And there was definitely no water involved. I bounded onto the rock Bluestar was sitting patiently on. "Have you made your decision?" she asked, flicking her tail. "Yes. I choose to go to ThunderClan." Chapter 3 I woke the next morning to sunlight streaking through the green-leaf sky. Suddenly Flowerkit pounced on me. "Apprentices! Today!" she shouted, too excited to taunt or tease- or so I thought. 'Pity you don't like water, drypaw," she drawled. "New apprentices learn how to do backflips in the river!" My stomach churned. I had to talk to Mistystar. "Where are you going?" Flowerkit sneered as I shouldered past her to the RiverClan leader's den. Ignoring her, I called into the rushes covering Mistystar's den,"Mistystar?" "Yes? Come in!" she mewed from inside. I entered. The leader was sitting in her luxurious feather-filled nest, looking up at the shiny, colorful pebbles decorating the ceiling. "Raykit? What is it?" she purred, just as Bluestar did in my dream. "I-I- wanted to tell you.... after I'm apprenticed..." I stopped. How could I do this? "Yes?" Mistystar meowed. "I want to transfer to ThunderClan. I just don't fit in here," I squeaked. "Are you talking about your fear of water? Don't worry, I knew you would come. Bluestar visited me and told me. After you are apprenticed, you are free to go." Mistystar looked at me with understanding and compassion in her eyes, which were as blue as the river. I was astonished. Just like that? "Um... okay then," I stammered, and left the den. "What was that about?" Flowerkit snickered. "Are you going to be exiled for being scared of water?" "STOP IT!" I yelled. Whoa, how did I do that? I wondered. I had never been able to speak up for myself before. "Uh... okay then... sorry!" my sister squeaked, and ran back into the nursery. Just as she pelted through the nursery opening, Mistystar jumped onto the TallTree, the willow just above her den where she makes announcements. "May all cats old enough to swim gather beneath the TallTree for an announcement!" she yowled. Cats of all ages, except for Petalfur, who was looking after her one-moon-old kits, Beekit and Brookkit, gathered beneath the tall willow. "Three very excited kits are becoming apprentices today!" Mistystar announced. "Flowerkit, Wavekit and Raykit! Come here!" The three of us somehow scrambled up to the lowest branch, where our leader was sitting, her tail neatly wrapped around her paws. "Flowerkit, you will now be known as Flowerpaw. Your mentor will be Hollowstone. Hollowstone, you are young but I trust you to teach Flowerpaw in all things of the warrior way." Mistystar nodded to the two cats, and they touched noses. Hollowstone, a dark tabby tom, had a steely glint in his menacing green eyes as he flicked my sister with his tail. "Wavekit, you will now be known as Wavepaw. Icewing, you will be her mentor. Icewing, with your hunting and battle skills, you will be a great mentor to this new apprentice." Icewing, a beautiful white she-cat with soft blue eyes, looked down superiorly at Wavepaw, who stared back indignantly. I was sure I saw Icewing mutter something into my littermate's ear. "Raykit, your name is now Raypaw. You will not need a mentor. Now, Raykit has chosen to do something that hasn't been done for quite some time. She has decided to transfer Clans, to ThunderClan." I cringed as many cats objected fiercely. "She could tell our secrets!" Hollowstone called out. "We need all of our warriors! We can't afford traitors!" Mossyfur, a brown-and-white she-cat, yelled. "Stop this nonsense!" Mistystar snarled. "Raypaw has a choice! She doesn't need to stay here if she truly believes in her heart that she doesn't belong!" "It's true..." It was Sunnylight. Chapter 4 "M-mother!" I squeaked, bounding down from the TallTree. "I'm so sorry!" "Don't worry, honey. I'll miss you so much, but I too believe that ThunderClan is where you belong," she whispered. Then she turned to face RiverClan. "I support Raypaw changing Clans!" she meowed loudly. "Me too!" an elder, Mosspelt, agreed. "Then let her leave in peace!" Mistystar declared. She turned to Raypaw. "Raypaw, it pains me to say this, but you are no longer part of RiverClan. Goodbye!" I, still shivering from the shock of the dream from Bluestar, nodded slowly, and edged out of the camp. I pelted out of RiverClan territory. Should I go through WindClan or ShadowClan? ''I wondered as I looked from a hill onlooking ShadowClan and WindClan's territory. ''ShadowClan, I decided, and ran towards the pines to my left. "Hey, I think I smell RiverClan!" a young she-cat's voice mewed excitedly. "Will there be a battle?" I was just outside of RiverClan territory. I dived into a bush, careful not to rustle it. ShadowClan! "Of course not, Dewpaw!" an older, more masculine voice scoffed. "This is the RiverClan border." "Okay, sorry, Starlingfoot!" the apprentice squealed. I patiently waited until the ShadowClan cats had finished sniffing around. Careful not to stray three-fox-lengths from the lake, I raced towards ThunderClan until I saw the birches, oaks and beeches crowding the forest. Crows cawed, sparrows chirped and larks sang. This is it, I thought.'' This is where I'm meant to be.'' With that in my mind, I bounded along a path of scents I knew led to the ThunderClan camp. Chapter 5 All of a sudden, a flash of paws pinned me down and I struggled for help. "Stop!" my voice was raspy from the emotional overload of the past day, but it was enough to silence whoever was attacking me. I opened my now-wide eyes to see a very bright ginger tabby she-cat with piercing green eyes, a soft-looking gray she-cat with glittering golden eyes, and a brown and cream tom, an apprentice by the looks of him. "RiverClan! Why are you intruding on our territory?" the bright red tabby she-cat questioned, sniffing my ginger pelt furiously. "I-" This was my moment. My only chance. "I want to join ThunderClan." "You want to join ThunderClan?" the red she-cat spluttered in surprise. "Squirrelflight, I think we could use her, actually," the soft gray she-cat mewed softly. The she-cats argued softly as the apprentice took a step towards me. The cream and brown tom gazed at me, his blue eyes wide with curiosity. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice squeaking. "My name is Raypaw, I was an apprentice of RiverClan, b-but I don't like the water, and the teased me. They called me a drypaw." I sniffed, feeling the horrible rush of emotions from the day. "Oh." the tom mewed softly, and turned his head. "I'm sorry." I growled. I didn't need his pity! The two she-cats were still muttering together. They turned to me, saying, "We'll see if Graystar lets you join." I almost leaped into the air in joy. But seeing the solemn looks on the ThunderClan cats' faces, I somehow didn't think it would be as fun as I thought. Chapter 6 The three cats led me into the stone hollow. I gasped at the beauty of the sheer stone walls, and the roan-brown birch lying in the middle. I smiled, watching a bouncing trio of kits, one silver, one black and one golden tabby, watched closely by the mother, a gray tabby with glowing blue eyes. A golden tom lay next to her, probably her mate. "Graystar is in his den," Squirrelflight mewed, jolting me out of my thoughts, pointing her tail to a mountain of rocks. I bounded up the stones, wincing as I grazed my paw. I licked my pad and ignored it. By now, everyone in ThunderClan was watching me with confused eyes. I ignored them, too. I entered through the shadows, into a den filled with moss. At first I thought that it was empty, until a pair of glinting yellow eyes snapped open. What I thought was a rock stretched and shook out its long gray fur. He nodded to me, showing me a nicked ear and a pink scratch on his forehead. "Hello, Raypaw. I'm Graystar!" he purred cheerfully. "H-how do you know my name?" I asked. "StarClan aren't silent these days," he meowed, blinking his sand colored eyes warmly. I nodded politely. "So..." I started. "When do I start training?" Graystar chuckled. "I'm just about to start the ceremony. Don't worry, I have a feeling you'll fit right in!" he assured me. I shivered. What if no one likes me? I worried. Shaking the thought out of my head, I followed Graystar out into the sunlight, where my mystery mentor awaited. He leapt up onto the Highledge, announcing, "May all cats old enough to catch prey please gather here for an important ceremony!" All of the cats quickly gathered under the pile of rocks, anticipation in their eyes. "Hollykit! Heatherkit! Honeykit! You'll miss the ceremony!" the golden tabby tom scolded the kits gently. "Fine, dad," the black kit retorted. She blinked her forest green eyes irritatedly. The three kits sat by their mother, the silver tabby, just as the ceremony started. "I have gathered you here today so you could witness four apprentice ceremonies," Graystar meowed. Most of the cats looked surprised, but one gray tom, with ice-blue eyes, looked as if he had known all along that I would become part of ThunderClan. I decided to show myself. I sat next to Graystar, my eyes wide as I presented myself to the clan. They gasped. I stood there defiantly. "That apprentice is from RiverClan!" a shocked elder called, a dark, dust colored tabby with menacing amber eyes and a graying muzzle. "Yeah!" shouted a pregnant queen, a tortoiseshell she-cat with white patches that looked like falling blossoms. "Can we really trust her?" a cream colored tom with a stump for a tail added, scowling. "Shut up, for StarClan's sake!" I turned to stare at the gray tom, who looked at everyone with cold fire in his eyes. "She could be a valuable addition to the clan!" he mewed. "Jayfeather's right!" the golden tabby tom yowled. "Of course Jayfeather's right, they're brothers," the cream tom muttered to the dark tabby elder. "Everyone, be peaceful!" Graystar yelled. Everyone instantly fell quiet. "I know its hard to trust a young, foolhardy apprentice, but she chose to come here! She might give us some of RiverClan's secrets!" I felt my face warming up. I was loyal to RiverClan! Wait, no I'm not! I thought with excitement. I'm loyal to my new clan! "I will start the ceremony. Raypaw, Hollykit, Honeykit and Heatherkit, come to join me on the Highledge!" Graystar declared. I stepped forward. Chapter 7 "Raypaw! You'll miss training!" Ivypool called. I sighed and stretched. I could see the faint, watery sunlight that only trickled into the den at dawn. "I'm coming!" I mewed, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. Ivypool was my new mentor, and though she was great, I didn't think she was the best mentor I could have. "We're doing battle training now!" she purred as I stumbled out of the den. Her glossy gray tabby and white fur shone, interrupted only by countless scars she claimed were from battle. But I knew something was wrong. She always came back to me with new scars. I could spot a new one on her ear. Stretching in the cold, brisk sunlight, my body filled with energy. I smiled as my fur prickled with sunny joy. Ivypool beckoned to me. "Come on! We don't have all day!" I followed her out, through the tunnel, to come to the beautiful forest, sprouting new life everywhere in the fair green-leaf weather. A lark sang from a branch in a cedar tree. Bees buzzed in the distance. I could smell poppies and catmint, and for a moment I felt as if I was in tune with the whole forest. We stopped at the mossy hollow. The sun was stronger now, and I was panting when we got there. "Okay! This move is called the..." Ivypool trailed off. She obviously wanted to tell me something, but thought against it. "Alright," she started again. "This move is called the Tree Swipe." She scurried up a tree with great agility. "Raypaw, Place a leaf right there!" she called from her treetop refuge, pointing with her tail to a spot close to the roots of the great oak she was perched on. I tore an oak leaf from where it was lodged between the roots and placed it carefully on the place Ivypool had specified. I watched closely as she crouched in wait. Then, unexpectedly, she leaped and landed right on the leaf. She neatly brushed the leaf away, and leapt back up into the tree. "Come on! Let me teach you how to do it," she exclaimed. I followed her up into the tree. I had already been taught how to climb trees in my first quarter-moon in ThunderClan. It came to me easily. She positioned me well in the tree. "Remember, Raypaw, you have to be really still, or else the enemy will hear you brushing against the leaves." I nodded, determined to get it right the first time. "See that clump of moss over there? Aim for it as you leap," Ivypool instructed. I nodded again, and crouched. I arched my back, careful not to brush against the leaves, and jumped. I felt like I was flying. I looked down and saw three things. One, that I had completely missed the moss. Two, I was landing. And three, I was heading for a huge fallen tree. My world went black. Chapter 8 "Raypaw! Raypaw!" a voice yelled. "Raypaw!" I groggily opened my eyes. I could see, but very blurrily. I realized I was in the medicine den. I could just make out Jayfeather and his apprentice, Honeypaw, standing over me. "Wh-what happened?" I asked, croaking. Then I remembered what I had been doing just before I woke up. I had crashed into a tree! "Raypaw, you're going to be fine," Jayfeather assured. "Really. What happened?" I pestered. "Fine. I'll tell you. You smashed into a tree, which you know. You had injuries to your face and front paw, and you bled a lot. We didn't know if you were going to live. But you pulled through. You're going to be okay, Raypaw!" Jayfeather told me. "Yeah! Your face is healing quite nicely!" Honeypaw added. She was the quiet one out of her siblings, and looked the part, with her shy blue eyes and soft honey-colored golden tabby fur. "Oh- okay..." I mewed weakly, and fell asleep again. I dreamt I was in a forest, green and lush. I padded up to a pool of clear, pure water. I wonder... I looked into the water. It was my normal, ginger face. I sighed with relief. The tree hadn't differed me at all. Then the water changed. The face was now distorted, pink and scarred. Both of my eyes were still intact, but my left ear was shredded to a stub. My usually cheerful, kind face was now pityful and teary. Great. Chapter 9 I woke up screaming. Or at least I thought I had woken up. I looked around wildly. I wasn't in the medicine cats' den... My eyesight came to focus and I gasped. I was in the middle of nowhere. Dark, tall pine trees loomed out of the fog. I heard whispering. The taste of smoke made my lip curl. "H- hello?" I stuttered, whispering. "Is anyone there?" Pawsteps. Someone had come to save me! But I couldn't see anyone. And those weren't pawsteps. That was water! I tried to scream when the river rushed straight into me but my mouth filled with water. The river I was born so near to had bound me to my limits and forced me to change allegiances. As I rose to the surface of the water, the strange river vanished and I stood on the peaty, pine-needle-covered ground, shivering and coughing. Suddenly, a fine mist started to appear. Then a ginger tabby cat stepped out of the fog. After watching it closely, I came to the realization that.. This cat was me! "Raypaw. Come with me!" the cat said. I dopily nodded and stood up on weak, shaking legs. I followed myself to somewhere that definitely looked better than the place I was before, sporting lush, green trees and puddles of clear blue water, soft-looking moss everywhere and the sound of chattering birds. The cat, myself, sat down on the moss. She smiled weakly at me with an expression that was wise beyond my years. "Raypaw, please don't freak out. I have to tell you. You- you're dead." Cold, sad realization crept up my spine. It couldn't be true! Honeypaw and Jayfeather had said I was going to be fine! "You lost too much blood after the accident. We could do nothing to save you." I hung my head. "Okay. When do I get to StarClan?" I asked, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "Right now!" the other me exclaimed as her body swirled into mine and stars formed on my fur. I knew where I belonged now. Not in RiverClan. Sadly, not in ThunderClan. I was always meant to be here, in StarClan. The End Category:Fan Fictions